Urgent cold protection for spring rice

(Baonghean.vn) - Low temperatures combined with drizzle over the past few days have caused many areas of rice seedlings to freeze to death, especially in localities that have not seriously followed the recommendations of the Department of Agriculture.

Walking along the fields in Hung Phuc, Hung Thinh, Hung Loi communes (Hung Nguyen)... many areas of rice seedlings have turned yellow, dark brown, and even died. According to our observations, most of these rice seedlings are not covered with nylon, or if they are, they are only surrounded, which does not have the effect of protecting against the cold. In recent days, the cold air has increased, causing the temperature to drop, sometimes below 130C, while people have not seriously followed the recommendations on cold protection for rice seedlings, causing many rice seedlings to be severely affected.

This spring crop, Hung Nguyen has planted 5,700 hectares. In addition to the direct sowing areas, the area of ​​seedlings can be up to 260 hectares. This is also one of the districts that conducts early seedling establishment. Currently, people have sown about 85 hectares of seedlings to serve the planting of nearly 1,700 hectares of early spring rice. Although the district has recommended that people use pure AC5 rice varieties, hybrid rice BT-E1, BC15 and cover the seedlings properly with nylon, due to subjectivity and long-standing farming practices, people still sow varieties such as IR 1829, X23, X33, XT28. According to the preliminary assessment of the district's agricultural department, more than 10 hectares out of a total of 80 hectares that have been sown have died, with a rate of 30%. In addition, out of more than 100 hectares that have been sown, about 40 - 50% have died due to the cold.

Hung Thinh is the locality with the largest area of ​​seedlings dying from the cold in the district. Currently, the whole commune has planted 3.7 hectares, of which 70% has died from the cold. In particular, the areas of direct sowing have been completely "erased". According to Mr. Le Van Hung, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, the reason why the commune's large area of ​​seedlings died is because people planted seedlings early but did not cover the seedlings with plastic to protect them from the cold. In addition, some people have applied nitrogen fertilizer, reducing the seedlings' ability to resist the cold.

Mr. Hoang Duc An - Deputy Head of the District Agriculture Department said: The district has sent an urgent dispatch to the communes requesting people to stop sowing when the weather is below 160C. Areas where seedlings have not died need to be covered with nylon, fertilized with kitchen ash and have a reasonable water source to keep the seedlings warm; at the same time, direct the additional sowing of short-term rice varieties such as VTNA 2, XT28, AC5...., and sow seedlings near and after Tet to compensate for damaged seedlings.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghi Loc district said: This spring crop, the whole district planted 7,100 hectares, of which about 800 hectares of early spring rice in deep-lying communes such as Nghi Truong, Nghi Thach, Nghi Thinh... people started sowing rice from the 5th day of the 12th lunar month to plant after Tet.

The district has advised farmers not to sow and cover 100% of the seedling area with plastic properly. In addition to the province's 60% support mechanism, Nghi Loc has also allocated more than 800 million VND from the budget to support the entire remaining amount, providing farmers with more than 30,000 tons of plastic to ensure that 100% of the seedling area is covered with plastic.

At the same time, 100% support of plant protection drugs to control planthoppers to treat the entire area of ​​seedlings in the spring crop. Last spring crop, Nghi Loc had more than 1,000 hectares of direct-sown rice, but this year, thanks to drastic direction, many areas with the "tradition" of direct-sown rice have switched to transplanting seedlings, it is expected that the whole district will have only 200 - 300 hectares of direct-sown rice.

According to the agricultural sector's crop calendar, at this time, most of the early spring rice varieties have been sown by local farmers, and the mid-spring rice is also being prepared for sowing. According to a quick summary, the whole province has about 2,000 hectares of direct sowing, 8,000 hectares of early spring rice, currently 25/85 thousand hectares have been sown by farmers. However, with the current prolonged cold weather, some areas of rice seedlings have died, especially areas covered with plastic or improperly fertilized. According to the forecast of the hydrometeorological agency, the weather will continue to be cold and damaging in the coming days. Therefore, localities and farmers need to closely monitor weather developments to have a reasonable plan for sowing, especially not to plant early to avoid rice blooming when encountering late-season cold, affecting productivity and quality.

The entire seedling area must be covered with nylon. After 2-3 days of covering with nylon, it is necessary to check and water sufficiently. When the seedlings grow evenly, if the temperature is above 150C, open the nylon at both ends of the bed at noon and continue to cover it in the evening. If the weather is cold below 150C, continue to cover the seedling bed. Before transplanting, remember to open both ends of the nylon about 3 days in advance to train the seedlings. When the seedlings reach 3-3.5 leaves, if the average daily temperature is greater than 150C, the seedlings can be pulled out or scooped out for transplanting.

Phu Huong - Pham Bang